The Portland daily press., 1887-08-13
A SUSPICIOUS CASE.
Mysterious Death of Poor Christina
Jacobson.
A Chemical Analysis Necessary to
Determine the Cause.

Friday afternoon last Dr. Weeks was
called upon professionally at his office by
two women, one of whom, the elder of the
two, told the doctor that she thought there
was something wrong about her companion,
who was Swede, and could not speak a
word OF English. The doctor made an ex-
animation, and told the woman, who spoke
English, that her suspicious were correct
and suggested the only legal way out of the
difficulty.
Tuesday night the doctor received a call
to No. IA Hammond street. When he ar
rived at the house he was shown into the
second story where he found the two women
who had called on him the previous Friday.
The one he had examined was evidently
dying. Her pulse was gone, her extremites
cold, and she was breathing at the rate Of
forty minute. The womaa's sufferings
seemed like those of one affected with acute
inflammation Of the kidneys. He told a man
who came in, and also the other women,
that the patient was evidently dying, but
wrote two prescriptions with the slight hope
that they might save her life. The
woman died during the night
The doctor was called to Fryeburg the
next day and did not return until evening.
During his absence he thought over the case
and the more he thought the more he felt
convinced that the woman had died from the
effects of poison. Consequently when Depu
ty Marshal Black called on him that Tues
day evening he told the officer what he
knew of the case. -
After hearing what DIR. Weeks had
to say he notified Coroner, Gould and. that
officer empaneled a jury, and with Drs.
Cummings and King, proceeded yesterday
morning to the Forest City Cemetery,
where the body of the dead girl was
exhume0 and an autopsy held. The
woman was found to be in the condition de-
scribed by DR.. Weeks. The stomach was
sent to Prof. Robinson at Bow doin College
| Tor analysis. The jury were excused for one
week to await the result of the autopsy and
| analysis.
The name of the girl was Christina Jacob
son ana she was twenty years of age. She
had three uncles living in, the city-one,
Nicolas, at 81 Clark street. aud one, Solo.
mon, at IA Hammond street. "A PRESS re-
porter called on MIR Solomon johnson OF
| Is Hammond street. and heard from him the
following story: christina has been in this
! country six weeks, during which time she
has been employed by Mr.. johnson, a
matchmaker, at his home. A week ago
Monday or Tuesday. l don't know which
day, my brother Nicholas told me that
| Christina wasIgoing.to have vacation, which
she would spend at my house, after which
| she was going into the country to work as
servant girl in some private family. She
came to my house and was taken sick Satur.
day. She grew sicker until Tuesday, when
Nicholas told me he was going for DR.
4 Weeks. The doctor came and said Chris
tina would not live long He gave her some
medicine and in an hours time she was
dead. The doctor said she was sick with
kidney trouble. She had. think, been il
trouble about four months. Nicholas tolo
me that he thought so also. We decided t.
| write 10 the young man concerned, Mr.. Lar,
John johnson, Carroll county, Mimi, anC
ask him to marry Christina, and at the time
OF her death we were waiting for an answer
which we expect now, in about week. Sh,
died Tuesday, August 9th, at 1890 p. M
Mr., Nicholas, another uncle, was mex
called upon at his home. christina left GU
house and went TO Solomon's ON Saturday
and on the following Tuesday at 1880 D. IN
she died. She has been in this country blu
SIX weeks and was good, respectable girl
/ know this for she has lived with me tn,
most of the time. So far as / know nothing
was wrong with her, and the story that she
was not yirtuOus is false. DIR. Weeks said
that she had Inflammation of the kidneys
| and that was all there was to it. What Other
loiks say Is false and am telling it just a,
it is" ~
1t is thought that if the woman procureS
| poison she must have done so through,
other party. Apothrcaries sa,ssTS... fiat M
person could procure safTsenic who could not
/ sspodH &c is,iguage, so as to give a satisfac-
tory reason for desiring to purchase it. Even
II Rough on Rats patent poison, was de-
sired, any one ignorant of the language
would be unable to make themselves under
stood.